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Nets Interested In Paul Millsap?

January 18 2013 at 10:27pm CST By Chuck Myron

Though he'll be a unrestriced free agent this summer and has been the subject of frequent trade rumors this season, Paul Millsapisn't eager to leave the Jazz. The team has reportedly been in no rush to trade him or Al Jefferson, but when the deadline comes around, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweets that the power forward could wind up in Brooklyn. Amico hears the Nets may make a play for the seventh-year veteran, though he cautioned that such a move shouldn't be deemed "likely" at this point.

Brooklyn's incumbent power forward, Kris Humphries, has disappointed after re-signing for two years and $24MM this past offseason, and has fallen out of the starting lineup. Earlier this season, the team was reportedly pursuingErsan Ilyasova, who was the Nets' first choice over the summer before they re-signed Humphries. When Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors examined Humphries' trade candidacy, he noted reports that suggested the Nets were never all that high on him, so it's reasonable to expect they'd go after another power forward.

If the Nets want an upgrade, they'll probably have to do it via trade, since they're set to have no cap room in the summer. Acquiring Millsap at the deadline could be risky, as he could leave as a free agent, but trading for him would give the Nets his Bird rights, which would allow them to re-sign him despite their lack of space under the cap.

There have been conflictingreports on whether the Jazz are more likely to deal Millsap or Jefferson, both of whom are in the final year of their deals. A month ago, Hoops Rumors readers seemed split on which the Jazz would be better off trading, and a roughly equivalent number said the Jazz should trade them both.